Salvation in Paradise
by James Elrick
Summary: Two weeks after the wedding, Keitaro's cosin, Set Moritsune, moves back to Japan after a ten year stay in America. Due to he doesn't have a place to live, he moves into the Hinata House. Read and Review, please.
1. Disclaimer

  
  
Title: Salvation in Paradise  
  
Written By: Elrickian  
  
Edited By: MisterGray 

Special Thanks: HtokirStarReaver and MasterOutlaw  
  
AIM: JimBelmont07  
  
Started: October 7, 2004  
  
Finished: ???  
  
This fanfiction is based on Ken Akamatsu's manga, Love Hina. I don't own the rights to Love Hina, so please don't sue me. Also, I am not connected with Ken Akamatsu in anyway, so this story is NOT what really happened. Its just fiction, so deal with it.  
  
This Fanfiction is rated PG13. It contains foul language, sensual themes, and perverted humor. This fic isn't meant for everyone, so please don't read it if you get offended by any of the things stated. If you do read it, try not to bitch to me about the subject matter is in this, cause I warned you.

Also, it is best that you are familiar with the manga form of Love Hina, not the anime due to the manga contains more stuff (And is even longer than the anime). The anime is good, it's just not as complete as the manga.  
  
Finally, please review.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: Off To Japan

"Jesus Christ man, what the hell are you going to do?" Danny said somberly

"I don't know man...I just don't know..." Set said.

They were at the local Jack In The Box, both having Bacon Ultimate Cheese Burgers. Twenty-one year old Set Moritsune was around five feet eleven inches, which was fairly tall for a Japanese man. He had black hair down to his mid back in a ponytail with a five o'clock shadow, and was fairly handsome. He was in shape, but not overly strong. His prior job didn't require great strength. Danny Johnson was Set's best friend, and was fairly hefty. They both were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum (One being tall dark and handsome, the other being fat annoying and ugly), but they had a chemistry that made them best friends.

"If you want, I can put in a good word for you at Sears." Danny said

"Nah...I don't think that's the right answer... Thanks anyway, though. Sides, that's not the issue right now, man...I can easily get a job...The issue is Jenny."

For some reason, his life decided to spiral out of control: His girl had dumped him, he lost his job, and he only had about three grand left in his bank account. Not so good for a man his age.

"Man, forget about her. She was a whore."

"Don't say that! She was the girl of my dreams!"

"She was a cold bitch and left you cause you happened to have another life. If she was willing to dump you because of that, then she's not worth your goddamned time. So forget about her."

"How can I forget about her, jackass! We were been together for three years! You can't erase three years of your goddamned life just like that!"

By this point, the other customers were starting to stare, causing Danny to sink into his seat in embarrassment. Set on the other hand was on the verge of tears.

"Listen, man... I can lend you some money if you want."

Set sniffed and wiped his eyes "Nah man...Thanks though...You're a great friend...I mean that..."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Well..." he took a sip from his Sprite to wet his whistle before he continued "...I was thinking of going back to Japan."

"Japan? Why the hell would you want to go there? You haven't been there in what, ten years?"

"So? I do have family there... Sides," he smiled "I may just be getting fed up with you white folks."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah? What if I said I got sick of your squinty eyed ass and your bitching about your rice bowl?"

Set smiled wider. "I'd have to bust out my mad Asian skills on you, for you know us Asians are only good for three things: Drawing, Math, and martial arts."

"Ha-ha-ha! So very, very true."

Set was glad they had managed to drift away from the whole "Jenny" subject. He was about ready to just completely break down, and anything to take his mind off the pain was better than nothing.

"So when would you be going?"

"Oh...About in about a week..."

"I see... I'd miss you, bro."

"I know man, I know...It's just I haven't been there since I was a boy...There are some family members who were really kind to me and I'd like to see."

"You just want to move in with them and mooch off of them, don't you?"

Set gave him squinty 'What the hell are you talking about eyes?' and said "Maybe..."

"Ha-ha, I knew it. You damn freeloader. Can't take my American money, but you can go to your rice bowl and mooch off of people who you haven't seen in years. I see how it is."

"Ha! You probably got your money from drugs, and I don't want no stinkin' dirty money."

"Yeah, I might have gotten it that way. Or maybe I'm a pimp in my spare time. Ya never know."

Set looked at his watch, and realized he had to get back home to check on his neighbor's cat.

"Shit...I hate to break this moment up now, but I gotta split..."

"Blah...Ah well...I'll call you tonight. Oh, and Set."

"Hmm?"

"When you do find out, tell me for sure when you are leaving. I gotta throw a badass going away party for you."

"Ha-ha...Thanks man. I owe you a lot."

"Oh, by the way."

"Hmm?"

"If you happen to go to Japan, make sure to send me a postcard. Don't want your yellow ass to forget about me."

"Ha-ha. Alright, man."

"Later bro."

"Later, homes."

Set went out the door and walked towards his car: A 1973 Volkswagen Beatle. It was a piece of crap on wheels, and if you looked at it wrong it would act worse.. Set wouldn't be surprised if it exploded while he was driving home...Though that would suck, 'cause he'd be dead.

As he drove down Fallbrook Avenue towards the crappy apartment complex he lived in, he thought about what he would do when he got to Japan... He'd be short in terms of funds, 'cause a one-way ticket there is probably really damn expensive. He'd probably crash at a cheap motel there before attempting to find out where his twenty-seven year old cousin, Keitaro Urashima, lived.

Roughly a week and a half later, Set arrived in Japan. However, the first two days consisted of sleeping off the horrendous thing known as Jet lag. However, on day three he actually managed to head on over to Keitaro's parent's place to find out where he could find him. They were very happy to see him, and they had a nice little chat. They informed him that he was the landlord of a place called the "Hinata House". Apparently Grandma Hinata, who he hardly knew, had left him the place when she went on a long vacation.

After finding directions to where he might locate the Hinata House, he went back home to his motel room and started listening to the music that was on his laptop. Though he didn't have that much money overall, he was able to buy a laptop a few months back. It wasn't the top of the line, but the twenty-gig machine served multiple purposes.

He made sure all of his items (Which was only what could fit within a single suitcase), and then left the motel. He then proceeded to walk to the local Subway Station, where he was told he should get off after about twenty minuets. Then, it was a twenty-minuet walk to the Hinata House, where, if he was lucky, all of his current problems could just vanish into thin air.

Though Keitaro was his cousin, and they did play a bit when they were little, they really weren't to close. Keitaro was six years older than Set, and he always focused on his studies. However, it didn't' seem to help much. His goal was to get into Tokyo U. If it happened or not, Set didn't know. They hadn't spoken or had any sort of contact with each other since he left.

_I wonder what he'd say when he sees me arrive at his doorstep?_

It didn't matter...Set would confront this problem when the time arrived, and hopefully it would be soon...But now, like any growing man, he was hungry, and to appease his man hunger, he'd have to find some grub and fast.

"I sure hope they have a hamburger joint here..." he said hopefully.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: The Fox Strikes

After about an hour of searching, Set gave up on the idea of finding a burger joint. There were probably some in Japan, but it seemed there weren't any in this area. However, it didn't change the fact that his hunger grew, so he figured he'd just go to a bar and chill there for a bit. He had wanted a scotch, but it seemed they didn't have it... Nor could they understand a lot of what he was saying, being as his Japanese was rusty. So, he just ordered a bottle of sake and a plate of noodles. Sure, it wasn't a nice, tasty burger, but it would do.

He sipped his sake slowly as he watched the people come in and out. Mostly they were old men whose only purpose in life now was to get tanked and slap cute girl's asses.

_Damn, that actually sounds pretty good._

He chuckled, and continued to sip his drink. He'd been there for about twenty minutes, and figured he'd head out in another fifteen or so. He was feeling a bit tipsy, so he didn't want much more.

As she walked into the bar, Kitsune eyed it quietly looking for prey. She then noticed a man sitting alone at the bar, slowly sipping his sake. He had a single suitcase next to him.

"Perfect," she muttered. He was probably a runaway, meaning he'd be carrying his life with him. Hopefully he'd have something good, but at the very least she'd be able to get a free drink.

She walked over and sat down to his left.

"Hey there." she said playfully

"Uh, hello."

He was speaking broken Japanese, meaning he must have been out of the country for a long time. He was also pretty cute. If this wasn't business she might have tried to shack up with him. But, that's the way life works some time.

"Why are you sitting all alone? No friends?"

"I just moved here from America."

"Ah, that explains your broken Japanese. But why move to Japan?"

"I figured I could see some relatives. I haven't been here for about ten years."

"Ahso..." She smiled at him playfully, causing him to shyly smile back.

"Are you going to buy me a drink or what, cutie?"

He blushed. "Oh, uhm, sure."

Kitsune ordered a bottle of sake and the target paid for it.

"So, would you prefer me to just call you cutie all day, or would you tell me your name?"

"Oh, uhm, my name is Set Moritsune."

"Ah. Nice name. My name is Mitsune Konno, but everyone calls me Kitsune."

"Cause of your eyes, right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly right, Set-kun."

He blushed even more so. He must be thinking how lucky he is to have had this woman come up to him who seemed to be sexually attracted to him.

They chatted for some time, and she ended up drinking about half of her bottle of sake.

_All right... Time to execute the plan._

Set was amazed: normally cute girls were shy about walking up to him since they all thought he had a girlfriend, which was true two weeks ago. But she was very friendly. I mean, she even called him Kun!

_Heh... Maybe my life has already started to get better._

She stretched. "Well, it's been fun, Set-kun," she purred playfully "but I have to get going. Maybe I'll see you again sometime?"

"Uh, yeah. That'd be nice." He smiled weakly.

Normally he wasn't this shy around girls... It must have been a combination of the sake and the fact he had just been had a bad break up.

Kitsune leaned in gently and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for a great time."

She stood up, and walked out towards the door. Set looked at his watch, and realized he had been there for another hour.

_Shit! I should have been outta here by now!_

He made sure that the bartender had a nice tip, and then reached down for his suitcase...

"What the hell?"

He looked down and saw his suitcase was gone.

"That bitch!"

He stood up and ran out of the bar, and saw Kitsune walking down the street to his right.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

Kitsune turned around and saw Set running towards her, causing her to break into a run. She was running towards a massive set of stairs. Where they went he didn't care. All he wanted was his stuff back.

He was slowly catching up to her when she got to the top of the stairs and ran straight ahead.

"Come back here, damnit!"

He reached the top and saw that they lead to a massive complex that was probably an Inn, but he didn't have time to stop and enjoy the sight.

She ran to the front door and into the house with Set following close behind.

"Motoko! Shinobu! Su! Ema! HELP! Someone's after me!" she screamed

Moments after the scream, a woman in kendo garb appeared from nowhere with a boken drawn.

"Get away from her!" the kendo woman yelled

"What the hell!"

She slashed at Set with blazing speed, causing him to stop in his tracks. She slashed again, and this time he barely dodged it.

"Stand still you foul beast!"

He stumbled backwards, and felt a blunt object hit the side of his head. He stumbled a bit more, and noticed that this attack came from a cute girl with a frying pan.

"You pervert!" she screamed.

"You got it all wrong! I-"

"Save your breath!" the kendo woman yelled menacingly, and another slash, this one aimed for his head, just barely missed him. He ran deeper into the Inn, which under the circumstances, was a very bad idea. As he rounded a corner, he saw a girl in military type garbs.

"Mecha Tama-chan armada! GO!" she yelled in a voice that only the term 'sadistically gleeful' seemed to sum up, and about twenty robotic turtles sprang to life from behind her and began to fire at Set. He ran into another room, away from the chaos but he felt splinters of wood fly up and hit his back as the robots followed. He saw a set of stairs, and bolted up it.

"What the hell! She freakin' robs me and I'm the one under assault! This isn't right, godda-"

He felt something hard slam into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back down the stairs. He hit the floor hard, and saw a young girl, perhaps a teenager, at the top of the stairs wielding a wooden baseball bat.

Set gasped for air, but it hurt like hell. He blinked, and the next thing he knew, all four of those girls were standing over him. The cute one, the kendo girl, and the teenager all looked serious while the other one, who now that he got a better look at her could tell that she wasn't Japanese, was smiling playfully.

"I should kill you right now for your actions, you bastard." The kendo girl exclaimed.

"Please!" he gasped, "Allow me to explain!"

"Why should we? It's probably a lie from your perverted brain!"

"No! I'm serious! She robbed me! She took my suitcase! I was just trying to get it back!"

"Sure you were."

Kitsune walked into view smiling holding Set's suitcase. Without thinking, Set rolled out from under Motoko's blade and jumped up, diving towards Kitsune. He managed to grab hold of the bag, and began to pull.

"Let go you thief!" Set yelled

"No! It's mine!"

Before anyone could do a thing about it, the suitcase split open pouring all his things onto the floor. Manga, DVDs, clothes, books, a laptop, and bath utensils. It was amazing he was able to fit all this stuff in the suitcase.

"Son-of-a-bitch! Now my damned case is ruined!" Set cried

The girls looked at the mess, and then at Kitsune... She smiled weakly, and then sighed...

"Well I guess the jig is up...Yeah, I took his stuff.."

"You mean he was telling the truth?" the cute one asked.

"Yeah, yeah he was."

The cute one and the teen looked horrified, and bowed apologetically at him.

"Gomen nasai! I'm so sorry!" said the cute one,

"Please forgive us!" the teenager said.

"Ugh, it's alright I guess..." Set mumbled.

"I'm sorry for attacking you. We have to deal with perverts on a regular basis." Explained in a serious tone by the kendo girl from hell.

"Uh, it's alright."

They all sat down in the main room, drinking tea as Kitsune introduced them all to him, and vice versa.

"So why did you come to Japan, Moritsune?" Motoko asked curiously. "What was wrong with America?"

"Too many bad memories I want to burry. I figured, if I could find him, stay with my cousin and get back on my feet."

"I see..."

"So where did you think he was staying?" Shinobu asked

"His parents told me he lives at a place called the Hinata House. Have you guys ever heard of it?"

By the time he finished, they all had a look of shock and surprise upon their faces.

"You're joking right?" Ema this time.

"Uh, no. He's apparently the landlord of a place called there, and has been for quite some time. I was hoping that I could rent a room from him, or something."

Shinobu blushed, and bowed.

"I'm sorry! We didn't know you were Sempai's cousin! Please forgive us!"

"Sempai? What are you talking about?"

Su jumped onto Set's back, surprising him.

"Yay! I have a new playmate!"

"What the?"

Motoko cleared her throat. "Moritsune, you mean to tell me that you are looking for your cousin who is the landlord at a place called the Hinata House?"

"Yeah."

"Would his name happen to be Keitaro Urashima?"

"Yeah, that's his name. Do you know him?"

Kitsune smiled. "This is the Hinata House."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I am"

"Ha-ha! What luck! Is Kei-man here? I'd like to talk to him about this as soon as possible."

"It seems you have come at a bad time, Moritsune." said Motoko. "Urashima is on his honeymoon."

"Wait. Keitaro got married?"

"Yes. He won't be back for about three to five weeks."

"Damnit... Well this sucks..."

"Besides, this is an all girls dormitory. We have had enough problems with Urashima here, and we don't need anymore. I'm afraid you won't be able to stay."

"Motoko-san!" Shinobu exclaimed, "He's Sempai's cousin! We can't just throw him out on the street."

"She's right. I haven't been here long, but I'm sure Keitaro-san wouldn't want us to throw his cousin out." Ema stated.

"But he is a man! He could be as perverted as Urashima!"

_Keitaro is perverted? Hmm... I guess a lot has changed in ten years. He didn't seem all that perverted to me back then... But that could have just been due to I was ten, and oblivious to such things._

"Play! I want him to stay!" Su yelled playfully

"Su! You too! Kitsune! Please tell me you agree with me!" pleaded Motoko.

"I'm sorry, Motoko-chan, but I have to agree with the others. We should at least wait until Kei-kun gets back and have him decide."

Motoko gave a look of the utmost distaste, and then finally sighed. "Fine, we'll let him stay..." She then glared at Set menacingly. "If you try anything, however, I will make sure you suffer the consequences!"

"Uhm...ok. I won't try anything. You have my word."

Motoko turned around, and stormed off as the others stayed behind to learn more about him and his past.

_Well... It seems my life has gotten a bit better... Though I still would like a damned burger..._


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Breakfast Time

Sometime after the discussion to determine if he could stay until Keitaro arrived, at which point Keitaro could decide if Set would become a permanent resident, he was given the grand tour of the place. However, things got pretty crazy. Kitsune decided to throw a massive party, and seemed to forget he was still a bit sore at her for nearly getting him killed. But, he was able to forgive her. Shinobu cooked a massive feast that was just damn incredible, and Ema sat there and questioned him about America.

Su on the other hand wanted to play. It amazed him that she was only one year younger than him, yet she had the spirit of a child. It was very amusing, and incredibly painful. Motoko seemed fairly angry at the thought at him staying, so she acted very anti-social and cold.. He tried to talk to her, but she would just give brief answers and then walk off. Later on, Set was introduced to another woman named Mutsumi Otohime. She apparently helped Kitsune down at the teashop. She seemed fairly nice, however also seemed a bit ditzy. It also didn't hurt that she, like the others, was a very good looking woman.

And so, he ended this glorious day by shacking up in one of the many empty rooms. Room 202 to be exact. He then learned that it happened to be right next to Shinobu's room, and was promised he would try to keep things down as to not disturb her studies. Roughly ten minutes after he had finished unloading all the stuff he had brought with him to Japan (which, before he was given a room, was residing in fifteen plastic bags), he had already fallen asleep. He had no idea what time it was except for it was late, and he was very tired.

It was then that the dream hit. It started off as a good dream. The girls were treating him very kindly, fawning all over him. It was decently sensual, however nothing to foul. However, the dream went spiraling out of control. He awoke with sweat dripping of his face. He couldn't quite put to words what the later half of the dream was, just simply due to how weird, and random it was. The only equivalent to it was imagining beavers on crystal meth. That thought gave him a good chuckle or two, and calmed him down enough for him to go back to sleep.

The next morning, at around six o'clock, his alarm blared to life, playing the sounds of Japanese radio. Set looked at the clock puzzled.

_What the hell? Damnit... My clock is broken... Oh wait, no it's not...I'm in Japan._

It took him a minute or two to understand what they were talking about for he was still had an English frame of mind. It would take some time to get out of it, but he could cope until then. However, he was quickly horrified when he realized they were talking about some j-pop boy band and the controversy surrounding them. He got enough of that crap back in America, and would refuse to deal with it here. With the speed of a tiger, he grabbed the clock and threw it out the window. A moment later, his action had registered within his brain, causing him to curse under his breath.

_Note to self: buy a new clock._

He knew that with his new clock, he should set it up so it wouldn't tear him from his slumber at such an ungodly hour. However, he decided to get up anyway. If he went back to sleep he would sleep until late in the afternoon, and of course wouldn't get anything done. After scratching himself, like most males do, he wandered off to the bathroom, which was outside his room and down the hall. Chances are no one would be awake now, so no one would ask questions if they happened to notice him walking around in his boxers.

He reached the bathroom without any sightings, which was good on his part.

_Ninja Moritsune strikes again!_

After doing his business, he looked at himself in the mirror.

_...Jenny always liked this five o'clock shadow... Personally, I think it's stupid, so adieu fine fur... I knew thee well._

He walked back to his room, grabbed his shaving kit, and headed back to the bathroom. Five minutes later, he came out clean-shaven and stumbled back to his room.

_Hmm... What to do until the others awake... Well, I could always write... Alright, then I guess that's what I'll do. Should be nice on the roof, getting to see the sun in the early hours of the morn._

He slapped on some sweat pants and a white t-shirt, grabbed a blue notebook he had stashed on his table, and then headed towards the roof.

Motoko Ayoama was training silently, which she did every morning ever since she could remember. The morning was already particularly peaceful, allowing her to train without being disturbed. However, she noticed her mind was wandering to him.

_Damn him...Why the hell did they allow him to stay? Can't they see he will just lead to trouble like Urashima? Of course they can't._

As she thought about Urashima, she quivered gently. Sure, he was a married man and there was no chance they could ever be together, but it didn't change the fact she loved him with all her heart. Dispite his peverted traits, he was a decent man.

She prayed that he and Naru-chan would have a safe trip, and attempted to drive the thought from her brain. That is, until a voice broke her concentration.

"Oh, I didn't know you were up this early."

Motoko recognized the voice, but turned around anyway to see him. Moritsune stood there at the top of the stairs staring at her. There was something different about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"What do you want?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing, actually. I woke up about twenty minutes ago and decided to get some writing done until the others wake up. I figured the roof was a pretty peaceful place, so I came here. I had no idea you were such an early bird." He smiled gently.

"I use this time for training. I also train later in the day, but I don't get disturbed in the morning. So if you please, leave me be."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I bothered you. I'll see you later."

Motoko nodded, and Set went back down stairs... She couldn't put her finger on what was different about him (She was surprised she noticed after only knowing him for less than twenty-four hours), but it didn't matter. She turned back around, and began to train some more.

Around three hours later, the house became a living, breathing entity. Su was running around the house like a crazy person, Kitsune was lounging on the couch, Shinobu was cooking breakfast, and Motoko was tutoring Ema. Set was back in his room organizing the stuff he had brought with him.

_Looks like that is all taken care of...Jesus, why the hell am I doing this? It will just be a complete pigsty in about three days or so._

He sighed gently, and walked down stairs. He hadn't talked to anyone else this morning besides Motoko, but he had heard them all get up and bustle around.

"You like to sleep in?" Kitsune said playfully as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, but I hadn't changed my the time the alarm was to go off yet, so I ended up waking up at about six."

"Oh really? How come you didn't come out to socialize?"

"No one was awake."

"Hmm... Well I guess that makes sense."

He smiled, heard Shinobu call from the kitchen "Come and get it!"

With this, they all shambled into the dinning area. They all sat down, and began to feast upon the meal.

"Mmm! This is delicious, Shinobu!" Set said, in a most enthusiastic tone no less.

Shinobu smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Set smiled and went back to his meal. It was very, very good. Perhaps the first real home cooked meal he'd had in a long time, not counting the feast from last night, of course.

"I can't put my finger on it," said Ema in a thoughtful manner, "but somehow you look different from yesterday."

"Yeah, he looks more boyish," Said Kitsune.

All the girls but Motoko stopped eating for a moment and started at Set. He stared back at them puzzled.

"Set-kun shaved!" Su yelled.

"You're right!" Shinobu exclaimed.

Set smiled and began to take a sip from his glass.

"He looks cuter." Kitsune purred.

Due to the shock of this comment, he ended up spitting a little bit of his milk back into the glass. He began to blush, and all the girls but Motoko began to giggle.

"Wouldn't you agree, Motoko?" Kitsune continued.

Motoko ignored the comment, and Kitsune chuckled.

"Why did you shave?" Ema inquired.

"Well, long story short someone who was dear to me who isn't anymore liked me to have a five o'clock shadow. Now that I'm not with this person anymore and I don't want to be reminded of our time together, I shaved it off."

"Was it a guy?" giggled Su gleefully.

"What! What in God's name made you think that!"

Su began to giggle like a mad woman.

"So you had a girlfriend before coming here, eh?" Kitsune asked.

"Yeah, but she broke up with me a few weeks ago."

"Is that the reason why you came here?" Ema this time.

"I guess... Other reasons were that I got fired, had little cash, and not many more reasons to stay in America."

"That's harsh."

"Yeah. So, I figured I would move to Japan and live with some family. I figured I could bunk with Keitaro, being as he is the only relative remotely close to my age."

"Where did you work?" Mutsumi now.

"The last job I had was working a department store as a clerk."

"Oh me, oh my."

"How come they fired you?" Shinobu asked politely.

"I pointed out the incompetence in the manager's son, so the manager fired me."

"Isn't there some sort of law against that?" Ema asked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter when it's my word against his. Usually they tend to go with the side of the well respected business man who owns a department store, rather than a twenty-something year old clerk. If I was in a union, however, then it would have been considered wrongful termination. However, I wasn't."

"I see."

"So you moved here right away?" Kitsune this time.

"No. I waited a couple weeks before I fully made up my mind."

"What about college? You were just willing quit school to move here?" Shinobu asked.

"Uhm, I didn't go to college."

"What? How come?"

"It's not my thing."

"You really should go. All of us are students of Tokyo U... Well, all except Kitsune and Ema."

"Yeah, I have to wait a few more years until I can get accepted. I hope I can get my grades high enough by then." Ema said in a sort of depressed manner.

"Tokyo U, huh? How come it's so popular with you guys?"

"It's the best college in all of Japan, and is really hard to get into."

"And you all just happened to decide to go to Tokyo U?"

"Well, it first started with Naru, Mutsumi, and Sempai. After that, we all decided to go to Tokyo U."

"Sempai? You mean, Keitaro?"

"Hai."

"I see... So why didn't you go to college, Kitsune?"

"Pretty much the same reason: It's not my thing."

"You should really consider it, Set-san. It can open up many doors to your future." Shinobu had a look of concern on her face, which made her look even cuter.

"I'll consider it," He chuckled, "but I can't guarantee anything."

"I'm serious! It will really help."

"Ok."

Motoko stood up. "Leave him be, Shinobu-chan. He obviously wants to stay stupid for the rest of his life, so let him. Now, if you'll excuse me." She walked over to the door and went outside.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing really, she just despises the male race."

"So she's a lesbian?"

"Ha-ha-ha! No, silly! She just thinks males are perverted animals that aren't worth her time. Well, except for Keitaro."

"Why him?"

"Well, she still thinks he is a perverted animal, but she loves him. As do Shinobu, Mutsumi, Su, and perhaps even myself."

"That's not true!" Shinobu half-bawled.

"This is funny. Oh me, oh my."

Su smiled and quickly jumped out of her chair. "Yeah it is! He-he! You're always 'Sempai this' and 'Sempai that'. You'd throw yourself at him if you had the chance, though I might do the same! He-he!"

Shinobu grabbed the closest frying pan and began to chase Su around the room, until finally they ran out of the dinning room.

"So you all love Keitaro?"

"Yeah, in different ways. If it were up to us, we'd all want him for ourselves, but his heart belongs to Naru."

"His wife, right?"

"Aye."

"Yes, we all love Kei-kun in our own special way. And he loves us the way a friend would love a friend."

"Wouldn't that lead to some awkwardness between you guys and this Naru?"

"It did about four years ago, but we got over it."

"What about you, Ema?"

"Uhm, you see I just arrived here about two weeks ago. The day before the wedding, so I hardly know Urashima-san."

"I see... Well, I'm looking forward to spending time here and getting to know all of you better."

"We will enjoy having you here, Set-kun."

It had now been about six hours since they all had breakfast together. Shinobu and Su finally ended up calming down and heading off to Tokyo U for today's lesions, and Kitsune and Mutsumi were down at the teashop. So that just left Motoko, Ema, and Set at the house.

However, Motoko wasn't about to let Set relax. No, on the contrary. She had given him a list of things to do around the house to, in her words exactly, "pay for his room and board." However, which was lucky for Set, she had underestimated his ability to get things done good and quick, and ended up finishing the list about a half hour ago. Thus, he decided to retreat back to his room and just chill until the others got home. Once they did, he decided he should go out and get himself a new alarm clock. It was a shame what happened to the old one, and for some reason, had the strangest feeling that it would happen a few times until he had gotten used to the fact that J-Pop was everywhere. It's not that he hated J-Pop. No, on the contrary. He loved the music of Utada Hikaru and Maya Sakamoto. He also loved most theme songs to anime shows, which for the most part, where J-Pop. It's just nothing could replace his love for classic rock. It was his favorite genre, and was one of the first things which he was introduced to once he moved to America. He also thought about picking up some reading material. Manga, books, it didn't matter to him. Perhaps even score some dvds.

_Aha! I know what I must get!_

It was so simple. He'd pick up Battle Royale. Well, not the book, but maybe some of the manga, and the movie itself. He was introduced to the book sometime ago, and loved every bit of it. When he had found out there was a movie done, he instantly wanted to obtain it. However, that wasn't possible for, as to his knowledge, it wasn't released in America. He also heard there was a manga, but never got around to picking that up. He also would consider picking up some of the Vampire Hunter D novles... Of course, this was all under the theory he could still read Japanese. He probably could, but he would just be really rusty. However, he decided to wait at least one more hour until he left on his outing. He'd rather have most of the group know where he was off to.

He sighed inwardly.

_Damn... I hope things go good here and I didn't do something stupid. Ah well, I've done stupid things before and I managed to crawl out of them. I could probably work this out. Ha-ha, but who would have thought that'd I'd be able to live here with such beautiful women. Lucky Kei-man's been doing it for the past 8 years or so from what they say. Hell, maybe I'll get lucky and settle down with one of them. Doubt it, but it couldn't hurt. Hmm..._

He sniffed the air, and realized that he hadn't bathed since yesterday.

_Hmm... Perhaps it's bath time... I don't want to be known as Mr. Smelly, not to mention that this April weather isn't helping. Isn't it supposed to rain in April? Damn old time sayings... Ah well..._

Set grabbed his bath utilities, and walked off towards the small, pathetic room known as the Men's Bath.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

During the tour of the place, one thing stuck out in Set's mind: How small the men's bath was. Since Keitaro was the only male staying at the Hinata House (ocasionally Seta, someone Set had never met, would stop by for a visit thus making two male guests at the Hinata House, but that was only ocasionally), they never needed to make a larger bath. And a mixed bath was out of the question to them, but Set didn't mind. At least he had some sort of way to bathe.

Set stripped down to his birthday suit, and stepped in the sorry excuse for a bath.

_Hot damn this is small... Nice water temperature, but very small._

Set began to think of what he would do after aquiring the manga and movie. Probably watch them, and then get to know the girls more.

He sighed gently and began to wonder how Danny was doing. He'd give him a ring after he got back, though he wasn't entirly sure what time it was back home in LA.

Set got out of the barrell and placed a towel around his waste, and began to walk back to his room while whistling. He then smiled, and realized what he must do. He bolted towards his room, and then began to rumage through the things he brought. Finally, he found it. Bob Seger's Greatest Hits Vol. 1. He was a big fan of classic rock, thus making Mr. Seger one of his favorite singers of all time. He poped the CD into his laptop, and then switched to track thirteen and cranked up the volume to it's max (Which was pretty high due to he had decent computer speakers). The song was Seger's rendition of C'est La Vie, which was an awesome song. It began to play, and he began to dance and sing.

"It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished 'em well, you could see the Pierre did truly love the mademmoiselle, and now the young monsieur and the madam have rung the chapel bell, c'est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell."

Motoko sat on the roof, meditating. Training her mind to become even better mentally than it already was. However, he concentration was broken when the music began to blast from Set's room. She could tell it was American music, however the lyrics she didn't understand at all. He face became red, and she stood up and stormed off towards Set's room, sword in hand. She would teach him for breaking her meditation.

"...and when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well, c'est la vie say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell."

_God, I haven't rocked out like this for a couple weeks. This instantly puts me in an infinately excellent mood. Haha._

However, he failed to notice that he was still in his towel, his door was wide open, and Motoko stood outside, mortified.

"But when the sun went down, the volume went down as well, c'est la vie say the ol- Oh, hey Motoko."

He smiled at her, but she wasn't pleased. She looked furious.

"You... damn... PEVERT!"

She drew her boken, and stormed into the room as fast as she could, swipping at Set's head. Set ducked, dodging the attack by mere inches. He then rolled forward, towards the door, just avoiding a downwards jab.

"THE HELL IS YOU'RE PROBLEM!"

"YOU ARE A PEVERT!"

Set stumbled up, and bolted towards the door with Motoko hot on his trail. He ran through the halls, upstairs, downstairs, outside, through rooms, through windows, however he couldn't loose Motoko. It seemed that she did intend to kill him for his rockage, which would totally suck hard. They now were back on the second floor, and he was running quickly towards the stairs which would lead him to the first floor. Hopefully someone was down there and he could have them help calm the crazy kendo girl down.

He spun around the corner and bumped into a figure.

"ACK!"

They both began to fall down the staris, and then suddenly stopped. Set opened his eyes and saw he had landed face first into some girl's panties.

"OH MY GOD! PEVERT!"

He felt a surge of pain on the left side of his head as Ema kicked him with her heal. He rolled away, and then stood up, again just barely dodging an attack from Motoko.

"ASSAULTING AN UNDERAGE GIRL! HOW DARE YOU!"

"IT WAS ON ACCIDENT!"

"What's going on here?" a male voice said.

Set looked at the door and he couldn't belive his eyes. There, Keitaro Urashima stood carrying a suitcase.

"KEITARO-KUN!"

"Urashima-san!" said Motoko.

"Set-kun?"

Set ran towards Keitaro and gave him a big bear hug.

"Hot damn man! How the hell have you been?"

"Haha, I've been good Set. Damn it's been a long time."

"What's all the comotion?" A unfamiliar female voice said from outside.

Set saw her walk in, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Damn! That's your wife! You dog you! Haha!"

"Who's this?" Naru said.

"Naru-chan, this is my cousin. Set Moritsune. So what are you doing here Set? And, what's with all the comotion?"

Motoko sheathed her sword, and Ema ran over and bowed.

"How are you, Keitario-san?"

"Haha, I'm fine Ema-chan."

"It's a long story, Kei-man. Perhaps if we had some tea."

"And you might want to put some pants on."

Keitaro smiled and Set noticed he was still wearing his towel. How the thing stayed on was anyone's guess, but it didn't matter.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Welcome Home

_Yes! Kei-man's returned!_

Set quickly slapped on a pair of baggy cargo pants and a plain white t-shirt, and bolted out of his room towards the stairs.

_Ha-ha! I haven't seen the guy in ten damn years, and here he is! And damn, he got lucky! I wish I had a babe like that for a wi-_

Before his thought could continue, his bare left foot stepped on what appeared to be a miniature tank. He jumped up and moaned in pain, and then found himself flying down the stairs as Su did a flying sidekick to Set's face.

"Hiya, Set! Whatcha up to!" She said this with such joy and playfulness, that one honestly would think she was only a child.

Set landed on the tenth step from the bottom, and bounced all the way to the bottom. Next thing he knew, Su was on his back.

"Piggy back ride! Giddy-up!"

Su kicked her heals right into the sides of Set, and he grunted.

"Ugh, not now, Su-chan. Kei-man just got back an-"

"Keitaro-kun!"

Su stood up and jumped off Set's back into the main room, landing right on Keitaro's head, causing him to nearly topple over. The others laughed.

"Ha-ha, it's good to see you to, Su-chan."

"Did you guys get me anything?"

Set stood up and brushed himself off. He walked into the room and sat down on the floor across from Keitaro and Naru. Kitsune was to his left, Shinobu to his right, with Motoko and Ema sitting on the opposite ends of the table. Mutsumi walked in and sat next to Naru. She smiled and gave Naru a big hug. Su slid off Keitaro's head and plopped herself down right between Keitaro and Naru. Naru giggled.

"Just the way we left it," Naru said gleefully.

"So, Set-kun. What brings you to Japan?" said Keitaro thoughtfully

"Well, long story short things weren't working out for me in America, so I figured I'd move back to Japan so I could at least be near my family. I figured, if it was alright with you, I could live here and work at the Inn."

"Hmm. That's quite a predicament."

"I think it's a bad idea to let another man stay here." Motoko protested. "It's bad enough we had Urashima living here. Having to deal with his perverted antics, day after day, week after week, month after month. We may have gotten used to it, but that doesn't mean we are willing to start over and let another male live here."

Keitaro began to blush.

"Aw, come on! I wasn't that bad!"

Naru socked Keitaro in the top of the skull.

"Quiet, you."

"I understand where your coming from, Motoko-chan, but please try to see where I'm coming from. I've just moved from America to Japan, which has cost me pretty much all of my funds. None of my family is living in the states, and I only have one person there who I could truly call a friend. I have no place to go and no where else to turn."

"I sympathize with you, Set," Naru proclaimed "but for all we know you're just some horney young man wanting to mooch off of your cousin?"

"Aw, come on, Naru-chan!" It was Kitsune's turn now. "He's been living here for only a day or so, and he hasn't caused any problems."

"That's not true! What about earlier when he attacked Ema!" Motoko exclaimed wildly.

"I didn't attack Ema, I just tripped and fell into her."

"Liar! You'd say anything to save your perverted ass!"

"Oh me, oh my. This is all so exciting." Mutsumi said dreamily.

"He hasn't done anything horrible, so why shouldn't he stay? He's Sempai's cousin, after all," proclaimed Shinobu.

Su jumped across the room and tackled Set. "He's alright by me!"

Keitaro stood up to gather their attention. "Listen, I'm personally okay with allowing Set to stay here and live with us, not just because he's family, but because he's a decent chap, and extra help is always nice to have. However, if the majority of you don't want him to stay, I wouldn't want you to have any animosity towards each other. So, we'll have a vote. If most of you want Set to stay, then he stays. If most of you want him to leave, then by the end of the week, he's gone. Is that all right?

Motoko began to pout "Fine..."

Set managed to pry Su off him, and he sat back up.

"Good. Alright, now all for Set to live with us, raise your hands?"

The hands of Su, Shinobu, Mutsumi, Ema, and Kitsune bolted up into the air.

"Well, I guess that does it." Keitaro smiled and reached his hand across the table. "Welcome to your new home, Set-kun."

Set smiled and shook Keitaro's hand.

Motoko looked furious as she briskly stood up.

"Fine, let him stay. See if I care!"

She then stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

"Pff, Motoko-chan is such a party pooper." Su stood up and pranced out of the room.

Set stood up and followed Keitaro and Naru out of the room.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, Kei-man. I don't know what I would do if you threw me out."

"Ha-ha, don't mention it. I somehow knew the others would allow you to stay.

Naru smiled pleasantly at Set "Well, since you are living here I guess that makes you part of our extended family."

Set smiled back.

Set was back in his room, and it was shortly after dinner and the welcome home party for Keitaro and Naru. From what Keitaro said, they decided to cut their honeymoon short cause they grew home sick and missed everyone at the Hinata House. Keitaro also explained how he came to inherit the place, and how he and Naru got together. Set was amazed that Naru was in fact the promised girl Keitaro knew when he was little. Set always thought that he was making it, to perhaps impress Set. But, it seemed he'd been wrong.

However, being as it was close to eleven o'clock at night, Set decided he should probably hit the sack. Sure, everyone else was still partying, and probably would be partying until late into the night, but that didn't change the fact that he was exhausted from the insane chase he had this morning. Apparently, Keitaro had gone through the exact same thing constantly while he lived here.

_I can deal with it... So a chick wants to kill me... At least that'll keep me in shape. Heh._


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six: The Dog

It had now been two weeks since Keitaro and the others had allowed Set Moritsune to stay at the Hinata House, and Shinobu couldn't have been happier. He was Sempai's cousin, so he had all the right to stay at the Hinata House. Besides, the predicament he was in was awful, causing her, and some of the other members of the residence, to feel bad for him.

_Not to mention he's kinda cute._

She blushed, and instantly dismissed the thought. She just met him two weeks ago! She shouldn't have any thoughts like that. She hurriedly finished making breakfast, and began to set the table.

Before Set could comprehend what was going on, he was thrashed awake by something landing right in his back, and then landing on the floor next to him resulting in a noise equivalent to that of an "oof". Next thing he knew, daylight engulfed the dark room, causing his eyes to wince. He opened his eyes and saw Su staring back at him.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!"

Su had a very large grin on her face. Rather maniacal. This of course, caused Set to smile, for this was the sixth time it's happened in the past two weeks.

"G'morning, Su... Breakfast ready?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" Su hopped over Set, and bolted out the door.

Set sat up and rubbed his back. "Ugh, this is gonna be another exhausting day." He smiled, however. The work was kind of hard, and the pain he had to deal with wasn't anything he'd wish on anyone, but the food was good, the living quarters were comfortable, and the sights were wonderful. Being surrounded by pretty girls was an incredibly awesome thing.

Set finally managed to stand up, and stumble over to the dresser. He pulled out a pair of green cargo shorts, and donned on a plain black t-shirt. He then headed towards his door, and went down the stairs. Just like always, before he even reached the bottom, he was greeted to the amazing smell of Shinobu's home cooked breakfast. He finally reached the bottom of the stairs, and quickly ducked down, just barely avoiding Su's flying sidekick. She landed right in front of him, and spun around quickly.

"Nice try, Su," said Set mockingly. "Can't win 'em all, can you?"

Su smile nearly doubled in size. "Guess not! Doesn't matter though. I'll get you when you're least suspecting it. Tee hee!"

Su bolted off towards the dinning area with insane amounts of speed. He wondered if she ever ran out of energy, but decided he probably shouldn't try to comprehend her unlimited amounts of energy.

Kitsune was sitting at the table as Set walked into the room. He looked very groggy, though still cheery. Su was sitting next to her, and seemed to be in one of her calm stages. Keitaro and Naru were sitting across from her, and Shinobu was still preparing the last bit of breakfast. Mutsumi wouldn't be joining them due to she was visiting her family and wouldn't be back for a few weeks, while Motoko had yet to come down from the roof.

"G'morning, Set."

Set smiled pleasantly.

"G'morning. Mmm! The food smells delicious."

Shinobu blushed and smiled. "Thanks. I hope your hungry."

"I'm famished." Set's smiled widely as he sat down. To Kitsune's amazement, the man was able to wolf down the entire plate of food in mere minutes. Very amusing, if not slightly disgusting. This caused Keitaro to laugh. However, unbeknownst to Set, he had started a chain reaction that had been going on for nearly a decade.

Naru looked at Keitaro sharply. "How could you laugh at something like that!" And with a blink of an eye, Naru's fist was extended and Keitaro was on the other side of the kitchen.

Set nearly toppled over in his chair. "Holy crap!" The girls began to giggle as Keitaro sat up and dusted himself off. "Uhm, I'm sorry to have wolfed it down, Naru-chan."

Naru looked at Set pleasantly. "Well... I guess I'll let it slide with you just this once. However, use some manners next time."

"Heh, alright."

Kitsune was glad that Set was allowed to stay. It proved to be a nice addition to the household, and certainly added a bit of action to the house. With a new man, that of course would lead to double the amount of entertainment with accidental peep shows, and random violence.

About an hour later, Set found himself outside the Hinata House. He had planned to finally go down and perhaps purchase some things today, but he just didn't feel in the mood to. He then looked up at the sun and blinked a few times. "Damn May weather," he muttered. "So unpredictable... First it's cold, then it's hot. Then it's cold, then it's hot... Make up your mind!"

"Whom are you talking to?"

Set turned around and saw Shinobu shutting the door.

"Myself. Just commenting on the blasted weather."

"Tee hee. I see."

"So, where are you off to?"

"I'm going to pick up a book for Motoko-chan."

"That's cool. I'm heading down there to see if they perhaps see if they have anything worth buying. I planned on going a bit ago, but I never got around to it."

"Well if you don't mind, we could walk down there together? I'm also off to see if there is anything which I might be interested in buying, and to pick up a book for Motoko-chan."

"No, I don't mind at all. Company is just the motivation I needed."

Shinobu giggled, and they began to walk down the stairs.

"Set-kun?"

"Yes?"

"I really think you should consider college as an option."

"Heh... Why are you so interested in my future?"

"Well... Pardon me for saying this, but you seem to be directionless at the moment. Perhaps college is just the thing for you. It does open lots of doors."

"I'll think about it... It might be a good time killer, but who knows."

This answer seemed to satisfy Shinobu, causing her to smile. He seemed to be good at the art of getting girls to smile. This was a satisfying thing.

_Damn. They had nothing there... Bah..._

Set walked home from the store rather disappointed. He hadn't seen anything that had caught his attention, nor did they have anything that he wanted... Though, they probably did and he just didn't know it due to his rusty Japanese. As he headed towards the stairs that lead towards the Hinata House, he felt someone grab his arm, causing him to turn and face the person. There, stood an old woman, about the age of sixty.

"You look like you're in need of a companion, young man." She said this in a sly, creepy manor which caused Set to get a little goose flesh on the back of his neck.

"Uh, no thanks lady. I don't think I want what company you can offer."

"Oh, tee hee! I'm not offering my body, young man. Though I'm flattered, and slightly offended, at your thoughts."

"Oh, heh. Sorry about that. What could I do for you?"

"Follow me."

The old woman walked into a small shop behind her, and Set followed. The place seemed rather old, and dusty. As if no one had cleaned or repaired the place in the last fifteen or so years. The shop was full of empty cages and other unidentifiable things. The only thing around was a single solitary puppy sleeping in a cage on the counter. It looked as if it was a Golden Retriever. Set smiled and walked over to the cage.

"Hey little guy."

The puppy opened its eyes, and grew very excited. It ran to the edge of the cage, and pressed its paws up against it, hoping that Set would play with him.

"You see, young man. I have run this pet shop for the past seven years. However, things haven't been going so well financially, so I couldn't continue my business. Thus, I haven't restocked on any animals. What you are looking at is the last animal in this facility. He is seven weeks old, and he needs a home. Would you be willing to give him one?"

Set looked at the hound thoughtfully. It looked as if it's happiness was going to burst from its seems.

Motoko heard the front door open, and began to walk out to the entrance.

_Hopefully that's Shinobu with my book._

As she reached the stairs and looked down, she saw him.

_Damnit! Him..._

However, for some reason his jacket was off and he was carrying it, as if something was inside it. Set looked up and noticed Motoko.

"Oh, hey there."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just heading to my room."

"I see... And what is it you have there?"

"This? Oh, well... See for yourself?"

Set opened up the jacket slightly, revealing a puppy.

"Wha-? Where'd you get that?"

"Some pet shop near that long ass flight of stairs heading up here... Speaking of which, you guys should really install an escalator or something. That flight is like a damn workout."

Set smiled, and continued to walk up the stairs, and then headed off to his room. The next thing she knew, her ears were assaulted by that damn American music.

_Damn Urashima... Why would he allow such a person to stay here, even if he is his cousin! It's an outrage!_

She became startled a bit as a voice called from down stairs. However, upon its second sentence, she realized it was Shinobu. "I'm home! Anyone here?"

"I'm up here, Shinobu-chan!"

Shinobu walked up the stairs carrying a small plastic bag. She reached into it, and pulled out a book.

"Oh, so they had it? Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it. So I see that Set-kun has arrived home?"

"Hai... I wish Moritsune would stop playing that racket. It's rather annoying."

"I don't think so. It sounds cool."

"Ugh. I supposed you're going to say him bringing an animal into the house is also cool?"

"He what?"

"Apparently while he was out he picked up a puppy."

Shinobu nearly quickly dashed towards Set's room and opened the door. The sight was amusing. Set was laying on his pack, holding the puppy in mid air, pretending it was flying. Motoko walked over and shook her head.

"Aw! That is so adorable!" Shinobu walked over and knelt down next to Set. "Can I hold it?"

"Ha-ha. Yeah, go on ahead."

He gently handed the hound to Shinobu.

"Aw, you're so precious! Did you name him yet?"

"Yeah. I named him The Dog."

"The Dog?"

Both Shinobu and Motoko looked puzzled at this choice for a name. Motoko stepped inside and stood next to Shinobu. "What the heck type of name is The Dog?"

"I dunno... I figured it'd be an interesting name for a hound. Instead of being 'A Dog', he is 'THE Dog'."

Shinobu giggled. "That's kinda cute. What do you think Motoko-chan?"

"I think it's stupid."

"You think everything is stupid."

"Bah... I don't need this."

Motoko turned and walked out of the room.

Set shrugged, and then looked at the dog. "Hmm... I think it's plotting her downfall?"

"Plotting her downfall?"

"Yeah, don't you know? All cute, furry animals plot people's downfalls. Doesn't mean they'll execute said plot, but they do it all the same."

Shinobu giggled. "You're a strange one, Set-kun. Well," she set the puppy down on the floor, "I have go start studying. Have fun with The Dog."

Shinobu smiled and walked out of the room. Set picked up the pooch and looked it straight in the eye. "I'm still not sure if 'The Dog' is the right name for you... I might change it, but who knows..."

The puppy licked his face, and Set began to laugh.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: The Curse Of The Uber Writing Program

As soon as the others found out that there was a puppy in the house, Set's room became under constant bombardment. Everyone wanted to see the hound, though almost all of them agreed unanimously that even though it was an interesting name, The Dog was a rather stupid and lame name for a hound. Either way, they demanded that he rename the creature. So, he did. And from then on, its name was Kuma, which meant bear. This name was decided upon when Kitsune noticed it looked like a little bear cub. Of course, once Kitsune pointed this out, everyone, except for Set and Keitaro, could instantly see the resemblance and all said the name fit perfectly.

Thankfully, it seemed the dog was trained somewhat. Anytime it had to do its business, it would run to the closest door and scratch on it, with a "Please Open The Door" look on its face. The girls found this cute, and of course forced Set to clean up after the hound. Yes, he bought it, and yes, it was his responsibility, but he didn't see why they couldn't help? I mean, they constantly fed the dog, and played with the dog, so the least they could do is help clean up after the dog. However, they wouldn't budge on this issue. Set didn't mind too much. It was only one hound's mess, and he loved the dog with all his heart.

It had been about two weeks since Kuma came to live at the Hinata House, and Set was glad that the others loved him so much. He walked up the incredibly long staircase, carrying a plain white plastic bag. He wished, like most days, that the staircase was replaced with an escalator, but the chances of something like that happening were zero. That would of course be too expensive, and rather pointless. Set would get used to the ascent in time, but how much time was a different story. As Set walked in through the door, Kuma bounded over to him and began to bark playfully. Set smiled, dropping the bag he had brought in, and picked the pooch up.

"Hey there, boy! How you doing?"

The dog barked, and licked his face a bit. Set smiled a bit more.

"Alright, that's enough. No, stop it! Ha-ha! Silly hound."

He gently put Kuma on the floor and picked up his bag. He then walked over to the kitchen, with Kuma following, and walked over to the refrigerator. He pulled out a soda and downed the thing rather quickly.

"Well, that sure wet my whistle."

He heard a feminine voice scoff behind him. "So you wolf down your food, and you guzzle your drinks? That makes you not only a pervert, but a pig as well."

He turned around and saw Motoko standing there.

"Bah, whatever. Sides, what have I done perverted anyway?"

She sighed and headed towards the front door. "You're so oblivious."

She then left, causing Set to scratch his head.

_I really wish I knew what her damn problem was._

Kitsune, Shinobu, and Su walked up the massive flight of stairs heading towards the Hinata House. As they reached the top, they saw Motoko sitting near the door, reading her new book.

Kitsune smiled, as the trio got closer to the complex. "Some how I don't think you came out here due to the nice weather."

Motoko didn't look up from her book and just mumbled, "Moritsune is inside..."

"Ah, that explains it." Kitsune giggled and Motoko glared at her.

"Why don't you like Set-kun, Motoko-chan? He hasn't done anything to warrant your hatred."

"He reminds me to much of Urashima."

Kitsune's smile widened. "Meaning?

"Meaning he's a perverted bastard, and an annoyance."

Su shrugged. "I like him. He's funny."

Motoko looked back towards her book and frowned. "You like everyone."

"That's not true! I don't like every-... Okay, so maybe for the most part I like everyone. Big deal!" She smiled and nearly bounded over Motoko to get inside. She then made a quick left and headed off towards the kitchen area.

Set sat down in his room and pulled out a CD case from the plastic bag he was carrying. While he was out, he happened to come across a small little electronic store, where the clerk insisted he purchase this. This happened to be, as the clerk put it, the most amazing writing program ever to grace the world. He didn't see how the program could be that good, but the program only cost a little over five-hundred yen, so at least it wouldn't be a total waste of money. With that, he purchased it and went home. He opened up the CD case that contained the writing program and looked at it.

I don't see why I bought this damn thing... What's so special about it that makes Microsoft Word inferior? Meh... I guess we'll find out.

Set popped the CD into the laptop, and when the auto-run window popped up, he clicked install. Amazingly, the program was installed nearly instantly.

Must be a pretty basic program.

He opened up a new document under this program, and noticed that it seemed just like that: a basic version of Microsoft Word.

God damnit...

He sighed, and then shrugged it off. He decided he should at least fiddle around with the damn thing before considering it a complete waste of money.

What to write, however. Ah, I know. Something basic, stupid, and random.

He quickly typed in: **"Two mice dressed in pirate garbs fight with swords."**

As soon as he hit enter, his laptop made a popping sound, and moments later, he heard clanging. He turned around and nearly fell over when he saw two white mice, dressed in pirate garbs, fighting with swords.

"What the hell!"

He quickly picked up a book that was lying next to him and he threw it at the mice. As soon as the book landed on top of them, another pop was heard, and the book hit the floor with a thud, as if nothing was under it.. Set slowly crawled to where the book landed, and lifted it up, and sure enough, nothing was there.

"Was that just my imagination? What the hell just happened?"

Set looked at the laptop and crawled back over to it.

Well... I guess there is only one way for me to find out if it was my imagination or not...

Set then quickly typed in: **"A ninja jumps off the roof outside my window. When he hits the floor, he disappears back into nothingness."**

When he hit enter, he quickly looked towards his window. Again, his laptop made a popping sound, and he saw a man in Ninja garbs fall past his window to the ground below. He heard another popping sound, and he quickly bolted towards the window, looking to where the Ninja would have landed. However, the Ninja was gone.

"The hell? Does this program alter reality or something? Jesus, this is dangerous..."

He walked over to his laptop and attempted to uninstall the program, but for some reason, it just wouldn't work.

"Kuso... I don't want this thing on my damned laptop..." He picked up the CD case and flipped it over. On the back was a phone number.

"Well... Perhaps they can help me get this crap off..."

Set looked at his laptop again, and frowned.

"Just the type of thing to happen to me... Ah, well..."

Set left his room and headed downstairs to where the phone was located.

Shinobu started to prepare a late lunch for the group when she noticed Set walk into the kitchen. "Good afternoon, Set-kun!" She said happily. He turned and smiled back at her.

"Afternoon. Making lunch?"

"Hai. Today being a long day didn't help the fact that I forgot to bring a lunch. Would you like me to make you some?"

"Sure, that'd be nice."

"Alright."

Set picked up the phone and dialed in a number from the back of a CD case. She wondered if one of his computer programs was on the fritz. She then saw him press a couple of other numbers.

"Uh, you see, I bought one of your products today and I don't think it's quite right for me... No, don't want to return it. I just want to know how to uninstall it... Yes, I tried that, however it doesn't seem to be working... Yes, I'm positive I did it correctly... Uhm, the name of the product is "Uber Word Processor '05... Yes, that's the name it says on the case... What do you mean you don't carry this product? Listen, if you didn't carry the product, then why would your number be listed on the back of the case? No, this isn't a prank call. I just want to know how to uninstall the damned thing."

The door to Set's room opened and Su silently crept in. She planned to sabotage something to scare Set, or at the very least, find something she could fiddle around with. That's when she noticed his laptop was on.

Hmm... I know, I'll write an award-winning novel!

She sat down and noticed that a word processor was already open, with text on the screen. She clicked "New Blank Document", and was now facing a blank screen.

Hmm... Now, the only question is what to write... I could write a romance novel... Or maybe a horror novel! Ack! Creepy! Ha-ha! Oh, maybe something comedic? Or bloody, violent action! GRRR! Oh, I know! I'll just blend a bunch of stuff together, creating the one and only no genre story! Yes! That'll do it! But what should I use as characters? Oh, I know! I'll write something about us! Yeah, that'll work.

She then began to type feverously.

Before Set could comprehend what was going on, he found that a suit of armor and magically appeared in the middle of the kitchen. Shinobu nearly spilt what was in the pot due to the clatter, and Motoko ran into the kitchen.

"Wha-what the hell is this! This is your doing, isn't it Moritsune!"

"How is it my doing! I don't carry around a suit of armor! It just appeared from thin air!"

"It's true!" Shinobu exclaimed. "It just appeared from no where!"

In the time it took one to blink, Shinobu was naked, Set was wearing a chicken suit, and Motoko was wearing a cowgirl outfit. Also, the walls were now scrawled with certain four letter expletives, and floating in the middle of the air was text that read **LMAOBBQ**. How this happened was anyone's guess. Shinobu crouched to the floor, covering herself while Motoko dashed over and socked Set, sending him flying into the fridge. However, within an instant, the fridge was replaced with a giant shoe, and Naru and Keitaro were standing next to the suit of armor.

"What the? How did we-WHAT THE!"

Soon after, the suit of armor came to life and started to do the robot. Set stood up, and looked at all the confusion. Shinobu was now wearing a nurse's outfit, Keitaro was wearing a dress, and Naru wore a Darth Vader helmet.

Naru ripped the helmet from her head. "What the hell is going on!"

"I don't know! One moment I'm cooking lunch, and the next moment a suit of armor is in the kitchen!" Shinobu yelled this over the incredibly loud sounds of seagulls. There were no seagulls, however. Just the sounds. Kuma ran into the kitchen and began to bark at everything. Within another blink of an eye, it was raining inside the house, and there was a bear trying to get out of the fridge. Set and Keitaro ran over and pushed against it with all their might to prevent the bear from getting out.

Set's mind worked feverously to think of what could be possibly doing this, and then it hit him.

"Kuso! I knew I shouldn't have left on my laptop! Everyone, I don't have time to explain, but we have to get to my room!"

Motoko reached to draw her blade, but instead, drew a salmon. She looked at it repulsively, and threw it to the floor. "I knew this was your doing, Moritsune!"

"No, it's not me! Someone's messing with my laptop! We have to get there and-" Set's normal voice was cut off and replaced by a high pitched, clown-esq. voice. "OMGWTF! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! I like pie! Tee-STOP whoever's messing with my laptop!"

Naru nodded. "Alright, you and Kei-kun work on keeping that damn bear in the fridge. Motoko, Shinobu, and I will head to your room to stop this."

"Alright! Go now!"

As soon as the trio left the kitchen, they heard and explosion, and the stairs were gone. In their place was a giant pumpkin.

"Don't worry!" Motoko quickly jumped and landed on the pumpkin. She then used the pumpkin to jump higher, and landed on the balcony above. However, as soon as she landed she disappeared.

Naru quickly turned and motioned for Shinobu to follow her. "Come on! We'll get the ladder and head to Set's room from his window!"

"But what about Motoko-chan!"

"Once we stop whose doing this, we'll find Motoko-chan."

"Alright. What the heck could be doing this!"

"I don't know, but I hope we can stop it."

Ema didn't understand it. One moment she was on her way home from school, and the next minuet she was fending off what appeared to be Domo-kun's in the girl's bath. All she had was big wack a mole hammer that had appeared from nowhere to keep the perverted Domo-kuns away. But they were everywhere, and there were hundreds of them. Big, small, fat, skinny, young, old. Hundreds. And all had the same thing in mind. They tore at her clothes, and attempted to tickle her. She had been fending them off for a good deal, so luckily most of her clothing was intact.

"What in God's na-"

"-me is going on!" Kitsune yelled, wondering how her nice, peaceful room had been replaced with an igloo and mounds of stuffed animals. She attempted to crawl through the mound to get to the door, but the mound seemed to only get thicker and thicker. All of a sudden, something heavy landed on top of her, and she made a noise equivalent to an "ack". She then heard a voice coming from the object on top of her.

"Oh me, oh my!"

"Mutsumi! What the hell are you doing here!"

"I don't know, actually. One moment I was sitting in my parent's living room, having tea, and the next moment I find myself here. This is all so confusing."

"You could say that again!"

The explosion had been from the fridge. It seemed now the bear had possessed a vast knowledge of explosives, and somehow one could turn a bottle of milk and a piece of cheese into something that rivaled the explosive power of C4. The bear now was running around the kitchen, trying to attack Keitaro and Set. It luckily ignored Kuma, who was running after it, barking his little head off.

Damn, this is going to be a best seller!

Su continued to type, adding sentence after sentence of random events. Action, horror, suspense, noir, romance, comedy. It was all grade-A.

"**As Motoko continued to fall down, deeper into the abyss, evil gnomes appeared and declared their love to her. She couldn't accept, for she was already engaged to Sir Claudius Chapman of the Royale Buttermilk Brigade. Shinobu then wondered what to do with her life, which would end up resulting in something that could be labeled as steamy. **

"**Naru began to think that the murderer of Akira Osaka was none other than her adopted daughter, Shinobu. This of course caused them both to blush and ponder things that needn't be pondered. Keitaro on the other hand felt it necessary to morph into a Power Ranger and fight off the hoards of zombies that had imprisoned Set and the bear in a river of candy. Ema on the other hand had finally defeated the Domo-kun king and found her way to Canadialand, where Mutsumi and Kitsune, who were about to start their own hot and steamy love scene.**

**However, Set had other ideas. His ideas of becoming a famous country western star were shattered when his arch-nemesis, Harrison Ford came to challenge him to a duel. Not just any duel. A duel of the wit, and the food throwing. Motoko had also finally stopped falling, and landed on top of a giant marshmallow. The marshmellow's name was Stan, and was happy to have a new friend. 'Greetings, my name is Stan. I come from the land of Sand, and I live in a Can. How the heck are you?' Motoko was baffled, and slightly turned on. Naru then realized that her breasts were out to get her and decided that the only course of action was to arrest them on the spot. This is of course when Kuma would grow into a massive Dinosaur an-"**

"STOP RIGHT THERE, SU!"

Su turned around and saw Naru, covered in sweat wearing a caveman outfit, climb over the balcony and rush to her. Shinobu quickly followed, wearing a torn Nurse's outfit.

"Sweet! That's just like my story!" Naru ran over and stomped as hard as she could on the laptop, obliterating it. Su gasped and jumped back at the small explosion. "No! All that hard work for nothing! How could you, Naru-chan!"

Naru and Shinobu, however, now looked normal, wearing the clothes they were wearing before this massive event unfolded. Tired, but normal.

"Su...What...The...Hell...Were...You...Doing..." Naru panted this, and sounded as if she had just run many miles. Shinobu fell to her knees.

"God...That...Was...Insane..." Shinobu gasped...

It seemed all the others had gone back to their normal apparel, and everything out of the ordinary, from the wack a mole hammer, to the igloo, to the bear, and the costumes, was gone. Mutsumi, Keitaro, and Naru were still there, but only cause they weren't "Out of the Ordinary". Set held his laptop, extremely saddened by the demise of his beautiful piece of equipment. However, he didn't have long to mourn it, for the next thing he knew, Motoko had drew her boken and was demanding an explanation for the events that transpired. The others weren't mad...They were just very, VERY confused...Well, all except Su, who was slightly upset at the loss of her story. To her, though it would have brought her tons of fame, it was just something she would have to start again on another day.

Set explained how he had come across the product, and what it was capable of doing. This of course baffled the others more than anything, and Set couldn't blame them. He didn't even know how the hell this program could do what it did. However, the others, except for Motoko, said it wasn't his fault. As Kitsune put it, "This is something we'll all laugh about in about ten years...If we don't need years of therapy, that is."


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: A Hired Hand

Naru, who was sitting down moments ago, was now standing up, looking down at Keitaro. "What! That's a terrible idea!"

"No it's not, Naru-chan. Listen, we need extra help around here to make sure things run smoothly. As you know, we're leaving on the sixth of July to the dig where Seta and Haruka are, and my sister is busy with grandmother. We need another person helping here to ensure things run smoothly."

"But why!"

"It's just to make sure things run smoothly."

"But I still don't see why. It's not like we're running a hotel here and we need hired hands! It's a girls dormitory, and we already have enough help."

"I just want to be on the safe side, Naru-chan. If we hire somebody now, that means, if needed be, we can be out at digs, or on vacation longer. Kitsune and Mutsumi are already running the Tea House and Motoko, Shinobu, and Su are busy with studies. That leaves Set, an-"

" And Ema, right? Listen, even with their studies I'm sure they could handle everything."

"Please, Naru-chan? I just want to be on the safe side."

Naru's frowned and looked at the floor. "Fine... I guess we could hire somebody." She sharply looked up at Keitaro, causing him to jump a smidgen. "But if you hire a man, and something happens, this will be on your head, Kei-kun. Understand?"

Keitaro smiled. "Yeah, I understand." He leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. She smiled a bit. "Thank you."

It was a few days after Set had heard that Keitaro had planned on hiring someone to help around the Hinata House, and nearly a week after the incident with his laptop. Luckily, he had managed to back-up all of his files a few days before, so he only was missing out on a few, pointless documents. Keitaro and Naru felt bad about his laptop, so they bought him a new one. It was better than he had expected, and he graciously thanked them.

As he sat typing his new story, Kuma walked over and laid his head in Set's lap. Set looked down and smiled. "You bored, boy?" The dog wagged it's tail a bit, and Set reached down and picked him up and placed him on his lap. The dog stood up, walked around in a circle, and then laid back down, curling himself up into a little ball within Set's lap. Set smiled, and then got back to work.

Interestingly enough, the day after Keitaro had posted the help wanted add, they had a good deal of people asking about it. So far, however, none of them had seemed fit for the job. It also didn't help that Motoko had intimidated a good deal of them into leaving, or they found Su to weird, or something else... It would be very interesting when the person was finally chosen.

A few miles away at in a pub, a man sat at the back corner of the bar, slowly drinking his sake. He wore baggy, dark blue cargo pants, and a black undershirt. At his side was a small bag with a sleeping bag attached, and a boken . He eyed piece of paper that was lying on the table, perhaps left by the customer before him. It said:

"**Help Wanted at Hinata House. Decent Pay, Free Room And Board. Interviews between 2pm and 7pm Monday through Sunday."**

It was a simple, plain add, but it was effective. Anyone who needed work and a place to stay would instantly check the place out. However, there was probably a catch. But, that could sorted out later.

_I could use the funds, and I sure as hell hate my current living quarters... What the hell, I'll check it out._

Hiro stood up headed off to where the add said the Hinata House was.

_Hmm... I guess I could call it a day..._

It was about five in the afternoon, and May was almost over. Soon it would get hotter, and then hotter. Thank God the air conditioner worked at the Hinata House. Set looked down and noticed Kuma was sound asleep. He smiled as he gently picked him up, making sure not to disturb him, and placed him on his bed. Kuma twitched a little bit, but still lay fast asleep. Set left his room, and headed down stairs. Ema and Shinobu were playing chess, while Kitsune sat on the couch reading some fashion magazine. Motoko was no where to be seen, and Set assumed she was on the roof, venting about the possibility of another male coming to live at the Hinata House. Keitaro and Naru were out, and Su sat right outside the front door, writing anything and everything that came to her. Set gave her that notebook the day after the writing program incident, and she hadn't put it down since. Set walked over to the couch and sat down right next to Kitsune, and began to watch Shinobu and Ema's game.

"So have you been enjoying your stay here?" Kitsune placed the magazine on her lap and looked over a Set as she said this.

"Yeah, it's been fun."

"That's good. So any luck finding a job?"

"No, sadly... Bastards won't hire me, which sucks. I mean, besides giving me funds, pretty much everyone is gone during the day, making the days rather boring. Sure, I got Kuma, but he isn't the best company."

"Yeah... Well, if we find a person to hire soon, then perhaps you'll have someone to chill with during the long days. I'm usually not here until the afternoon when everyone gets back, and I do know you and Motoko don't get along to well."

"Yeah. She's gone in the mornings, and when she arrives home, she's like a damn ghost until the others arrive. Annoying, but bearable."

"Ha-ha. Yeah. She really doesn't like you at all, and it doesn't look like she'll warm up to you for a bit either."

"Damnit. I haven't even done anything, either."

"Which is very surprising. You've been rather well behaved. Not to many peek shows, no falling into our bath, no nothing. Have you even seen the woman's bath?"

"Once during the grand tour. That's it."

"Ha-ha, damn. She really doesn't have any reason to hate you... Or maybe..."

"What?"

"Maybe she's being mean cause she secretly likes you..." Kitsune smiled playfully.

"What the hell!" Set blushed for a moment. "Where the hell did you come up with that deduction?"

"Dunno... It'd be interesting, however."

"Interesting and scary as hell."

Kitsune giggled a bit. "I guess..."

"Check-mate!" Shinobu yelled. The smile on her face was stretching from ear to ear.

"Oh poo!" Su pouted.

The doorbell rang, and Su's expression changed to that of glee. She bolted up yelling, "I'll get it!" and ran for the door. She opened the door, and jumped back a bit. "Hello Mister! What'dya want? Come here to take advantage of us innocent sweet girls? Or are ya selling something? Make up your mind before I call the Make Up Your Mind Police!"

"Uhm...I'm here about the job."

The group sat in the main room while the stranger sat in a wooden chair across from them. His name was Katsuhiro Yamada, but he preferred to be called Hiro. He was twenty years old, and stood at 6'0". He had dark brown, spiky hair and brown eyes. He seemed to be the tall, dark and handsome type who wouldn't take shit from anybody. However, he also seemed like the type of guy who was easy going and could get along well with damn near everybody. While most of the girls were eyeing his body, Motoko was eyeing the boken lying in his small pile of things.

Keitaro eyed him, and then looked down at the back of the flyer he had brought. In the span of a couple minuets after he arrived, Hiro had scribbled his qualifications down on the back of the paper. "Why should we hire you?"

"Well... This seems like a nice set up here, and I do need a job. I can pretty much do anything you guys asked me to do. Need something heavy lifted, I can do it. Need something delivered quickly, I can do it. Need protection..." He looked at Motoko and smiled, "Well... It seems you wouldn't need too much protection with her around, but still, I can take care of it. I'm overall a likeable guy, and I'll get the job done quickly. If you want to hire me, cool. I can't start right away, as you can see. If you don't, ah well."

"I see...Group huddle!"

They got into a huddle.

"He's hot, let him stay." Purred Kitsune.

"He looks like trouble. Get rid of him." Snarled Motoko.

"He looks cool! He needs to stay!" Whispered Su.

"I don't see any problem. He seems like he could help out a lot around here." Shinobu added.

"We really do need the help, and he doesn't seem as bad as the others." Said Ema.

"Seems alright..." Said Set.

"Alright...What about you, Naru-chan?" Asked Keitaro.

"Well... I didn't like this idea to begin with...But he seems alright…"

"Well I guess it's settled then..."

Motoko frowned. "I know he'll be trouble. I can feel it..."

They disbanded from the huddle and all but Motoko were smiling.

"Well, it seems you got the job, Hiro."

"Cool."

That night, after giving Hiro the grand tour of the place and giving him room 203, which was the room in between Set and Keitaro's rooms, Kitsune held a party in honor of their new resident. Hiro took it well and seemed to have a blast. He was cracking jokes, making everyone laugh. At about one in the morning, they decided to end the party and everyone went to their respective rooms to sleep.

The following morning, Shinobu was making breakfast as usual when she heard noises coming from Hiro's room.

"Goddamned infernal piece of junk! Work damn you! That's it, you bastard!"

There was a small explosion that startled her, and caused anyone who was still asleep, including Set, to wake up. Shinobu ran upstairs to Hiro's room and knocked on the door. "Hiro-kun! Are you alright?"

The door opened, and Shinobu gasped as Hiro popped his head out. His face was now black and his hair was a mess. Smoke was behind him.

"Uh, yeah... I'm fine."

"Wh-what happened?"

"Well...My microwave was being unruly...so I killed it..."

"Mi-microwave? Why on Earth would you need a microwave?"

"Listen, Shinobu...You're food is great and all...Perhaps some of the best damn food I've ever had, and I'm very glad I have someone of your talent feeding my stomach and all that jazz...however...your food doesn't have the cheesy, meaty taste that only a Ham and Cheese pocket could have...Damn, their good...Speaking of which, do you have a microwave downstairs?"

"Uhm, no."

"Damn... Ah well... I'll pick one up later. What time do you think breakfast will be ready?"

Shinobu was to puzzled to respond. It seemed things would definitely get more interesting now that their new resident had arrived.


End file.
